Papa Xander:Catching Up
by Duchess67
Summary: Dawn comes for a visit and Xander picks her up from the airport. They have a lot to catch her up on.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

A/N- Sorry it's been so long since I've given you all an update on this series. Hopefully it won't be as long next time.

Disclaimer- I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Harry Potter or Charmed. If you recognize it, it's not mine. Just a few characters in this are mine and the main one of those is the boys' big sister, the precocious mini-slayer known as Laibah.

A/N-I know nothing about London or its outskirts, but there have to be huge estates somewhere, right? Consider this creative license and forgive, okay? *hopeful smile*

Xander picked Dawn up from the airport and drove her back out to the compound. The whole way he just kept thanking her, over and over to the point where it was driving her crazy.

"Xander!"

"What?"

"Seriously, stop, okay? You've thanked me enough already. I'm just sorry you had to wait for me to come out by plane."

"Dawn, you can't help it that you can't do more than two portals in a month. The fact that you're willing to fly all the way to Africa to help me take my entire freaky family, hyenas and all, to London HQ with the first one and send us home again with the second is a HUGE deal for me and I can't th-."

"Don't say it again!" The young woman raised her voice and glared at her one-eyed friend.

Grinning ruefully, Xander answered, "Okay, okay, I'll quit. For now."

When she glared again he laughed out loud, but true to his word, he quit thanking her and the two chatted about what all had happened since her last visit.

Dawn was in stitches over Xander telling her the story of how the pompous Watcher from South America had been put in his place by not only every slayer at the compound, but Jesse and Jimmy as well.

"Oh how I wish I could have seen that!" Dawn was wiping tears of laughter from her cheeks as he drove them back to the compound in the early morning light.

"That's not all," Xander told her.

Looking over in surprise, she asked, "It's not?"

"No. Get this, the wizarding community of Britain decided, in their infinite wisdom, to send their equivalent of two social workers out here to demand I get rid of the hyenas because they would be a threat to Jimmy."

"That's ridiculous," Dawn's tone was scornful.

"Oh, it gets worse, but first, do you remember the genbua litter Astrid inherited?"

With a frown of concentration on her face, Dawn asked, "Those hairless little guys that are so ugly they're cute and grow up to be about the size of a Cocker Spaniel, right?" She was remembering the story Xander had told her via Skype of how the tiny demons came to join the Harris household.

 _"Astrid and two other slayers stumbled onto some hilbonta demons working up to performing a blood sacrifice ritual to raise another, worse, demon. Astrid was the one tasked with trying to get the sacrifices out of harm's way that night. She didn't realize the mother genbua had been badly wounded and could have killed her for getting near her newborn litter, but Astrid won the old girl over before she even came close._

 _"My girl took out one of the hilbonta demons that had picked up one of the babies. When he threw the thing into the air as he died, she dropped her weapon, jumped and caught the little guy and then put him carefully back with his siblings. It didn't hurt that she then took out the guy holding the mother genbua's chain. The girls stood back and watched as the mother took out the last hilbonta and I'm just damn glad the genbua are empathic and could tell Astrid, Zenobia and Trish had all the right intentions toward them. The adults can be very dangerous, if provoked. Well, after the mother dealt with her last enemy, she was dying and knew it. When Astrid picked up from the altar the one baby the hilbonta had managed to sacrifice and with tears running down her face she laid it on the ground in front of Ramoth, as she'd named the mother right there on the spot. Ramoth made it quite plain she wanted Astrid to take the whole litter before dying in Astrid's arms herself."_

Dawn remembered being told how the girl had brought the litter home wrapped up in her shirt and the other girls had taken turns carrying the mother so that she could be given a proper funeral. She also remembered being shown one of the tiny genbua and was charmed at how their little pawhands grabbed the extra small bottle to feed.

Xander nodded, "Yeah, them. Well, the kids and Astrid were playing 'hide and seek' all over the house and Astrid's "pets", as the other slayers call them, were playing, too. These genbua are _smart_ , Dawn. I'm really wondering about their reported intelligence level, thinking the books have it all wrong and they're as smart as you or me."

"Really, they're that smart? I can't wait to meet them in person." She grinned.

Smiling at her now, he said, "You will. Anyway, I had no idea that Jesse and little Obi were hiding in my office when I'd led the officious and obnoxious Aingeru Flotts and his much smarter associate, Chandra Lichen, in there to wait on me while I dealt with a slayer issue."

Dawn interrupted briefly to comment, "The names these people have!"

Xander chuckled, "I know! Weird, huh? Dawn, I swear, I was only gone for three minutes, but when I got back all hell had broken loose in my office, as I heard long before getting back to the door. What happened was this; the jerk starts telling Ms. Lichen they're going to find me incompetent to take care of Jimmy, take him away and then Aingeru would be sure to put 'Harry Potter' with a proper wizard family to be raised with the 'right values'."

Dawn's hand was over her eyes for a moment before she dropped it and said, "Jesse heard all that, I take it?"

Xander nodded, "Oh yeah and you can bet he didn't like it. He came out from under my desk and yelled at the man that he wasn't taking his brother away and he was going to tell me everything. The man drew his wand and cast a spell on my son, making him forget what he'd heard," That last was said through gritted teeth.

Horrified now, Dawn gasped, "He didn't!" She was furious and wanted to strangle that man herself. She knew that if she felt that way, she was under no illusions concerning Xander's feelings on the subject and the way they ALL felt about playing around with someone's memory. And , knowing how protective he was of his family… That didn't even include the hyenas. They saw threats and just killed them, without remorse for any possible misunderstandings later.

"Obi, was on top of the bookshelf behind the visitors and launched himself at the man's arm, grabbing the wand and scooting under an end table with it before breaking it with his front hand paws and mouth. As soon as he did that, he started keening and man, did I not know how loud that could be from such a tiny thing as that. Each and every single other member of the litter converged on my office, kicking their speeds into a gear we had no idea they even had, running along the walls and floor like green/brown blurs and they ALL jumped the idiot."

Visions of the cute little demons ordered to be put down for the attack swam unwillingly through Dawn's brain. Before she could comment, Xander continued.

"Astrid, Laibah and Jimmy all came running first, followed by several other slayers, Whitney and me to see what all the yelling and keening was about. Well they mauled Aingeru good and the man is just lucky their teeth hadn't come in yet. As it was, he was seriously slimed and severely bruised. Apparently the little tykes have some wicked jaw strength. Well, Aingeru also got a bit clawed, but it was like being mauled by a bunch of less than half grown cats when the genbua are that size. He's just lucky the hyenas were all outside at the time," Xander trailed off with a wicked chuckle.

Dawn laughed and realized something, "What was Ms. Lichen doing through all of that?"

Xander grinned, "That's the best part, she'd been about to 'hex his arse into next week for obliviating a child, muggle or not,' as she put it, when the litter pounced on him. She was sitting in her chair, trying hard not to laugh."

His mirth faded before he spoke again, "That was until Jimmy heard what the man had done to his beloved big brother. He looked at the man and yelled, 'Someone ought to make _you_ forget!' and suddenly the man was a babbling idiot without a coherent thought in his head. He got off lucky, that was the nicest thing that could have happened to him for what he had done and what he was planning to do to my boys."

Dawn rounded on Xander, "Jimmy's not in any trouble for that, is he?"

Shaking his head, he answered, "Nope, they classed it as 'accidental magic' and swept it under the rug."

"Thank GOD for stupid wizards," Dawn exclaimed. "So how's Jimmy doing with his lessons in magic school?"

Grinning with pride, Xander tells her, "Fantastic! The teachers all think he's more powerful than the rest of their students, except for his cousin Wyatt, of course."

Dawn's eyes grow huge, "But he's only four years old!"

Nodding as he watched the road, Xander said, "I know. I'm just glad there's a magic school to send him to so he can learn how to control it so early. He really didn't mean to make that guy lose _all_ of his memory and it upset him after the fact. We've all taken turns reassuring him. You may be called on for that, too, I'm sure."

"Aw, poor little guy. I didn't think about that when you first told me and I should have. I'll do my best, okay," Dawn told him with a worried frown for the boy.

Xander looked at her with a quick smile before turning back to the road as he answered, "I know you will. He really looks forward to your visits and misses you terribly when you leave. All the kids do, really."

Dawn smiled, "I miss them, too." She turns slightly in her seat to face him as she tells him, "You know their sad little faces are so lethal, I dream about them for weeks after each visit and the guilt just builds until I can come back to see them again."

Chuckling now, Xander tells her, "I am so proud of my kids."

Dawn mock growls and playfully hits Xander on the arm.


	2. Chapter 2

2

A/N I know, these have all been one shots before, but for some reason this one wanted to continue a little bit. So here it is. I hope you all enjoy it. :)

When they arrived at the compound, Dee gave an excited squeal and had to get a hug after she let them in the gate.

Xander then drove the vehicle inside the garage attached to one side of the south wing of the African slayer complex.

The youngest Summers got out of the car and looked around, perplexed before she asked, "Where are the hyenas? I thought they'd have come to see us by now."

"Oh, did I forget to tell you? They actually left a couple of days ago. It was time for the annual gathering of all the smaller packs into one big one, the purpose of which was to either choose another top leader or find out the same one is still tough enough to kick everyone else's asses. Oh and then to go on a massive hunt after that to cull down a herd of something or other," Xander grinned at her.

Dawn grinned back, "Let me guess, you're betting on Vyeo to win top spot again, this year, aren't you?"

He laughed, "Of course? No way am I betting against my girl!"

As they gathered Dawn's bags from the back seat of the car, the two carried them into the huge kitchen, laughing and she asked, "Will they be back by next week when we're scheduled to leave?"

Xander nodded, "Vyeo is sure of it, so I'm not worried. It helps that they didn't have to travel as far this year."

Looking at him in surprise, she asked, "You're speaking in present tense, so does that mean you're still able to 'hear' her?" At his nod, she grinned, "That is so cool!"

Dawn passed a window, stopped dead in her tracks and gasped in surprise, "You never said the last wing was finished. When did that happen?" She never took her eyes off of the new building that fully enclosed a football field length inner courtyard of green grass, flowers and fountains. The newest building closed off the end of that length and looked almost like it had always been there.

Xander laughed, "Yesterday. You're just in time for the dedication ceremony tomorrow." He grinned, unrepentant, at her glare. "Oh there are a bunch of little things that are still needed here and there, but all the big stuff is done. Really though, did you think I wanted just anybody dedicating the new wing where my family will be sleeping?"

Dawn rolled her eyes, but smiled without rancor as she guessed, "Willow couldn't do it, huh?"

Looking sheepish now, Xander admitted, "Well, no." Face taking on a serious expression, he added, "But you're stronger than any other witch we have without half trying and you know it, Dawn. Willow is constantly amazed at what you do on instinct that she had to study long and hard for in the beginning."

Seeing the sudden look of fear on Dawn's face, he dropped the bags he was carrying, went to her and caught her as she dropped hers and grabbed onto him as if for dear life. Arms around her, he rested his cheek on the top of her head and whispered, "Hey, what's this? I thought you were okay with the magic now."

Unable to repress a shudder, Dawn admitted, "I still have nightmares sometimes. About what happened with Willow in Sunnydale... I don't want to ever be like that, Xander. Whenever I hear someone say anything about how much more powerful I have the potential to become, it _frightens_ me. So no, I'm not okay with it."

Sighing, Xander gave her an extra squeeze before pushing her back enough to be able to look her in the eye as he said, "And _that_ is why I trust you with my family's lives. You know what can happen, so you'll be on guard against it and you won't let it happen. Plain and simple. That and the fact that Willow says your magic is different from that practiced by her kind of witch. It's a part of you, the very fabric of your being even, none of it coming from an outside source." He shrugged, "I guess you're more like my sisters in that regard."

Dawn looked startled by that, "I am? Wow... Never thought about it that way." She looked up and smiled in relief, "Thanks, Xander." They hugged again and began picking up her bags and walking once more.

Leading the way, he asked, "Would you consider talking to the Charmed Ones about your magic? I'm sure they'd agree to help you, especially now that Billy isn't getting into quite so much trouble anymore."

They'd gotten as far as the foyer and the large staircase there. Before Dawn could answer, a young voice shrieked at the top of his lungs, "She's here!"

Hopping up onto and sliding down the curved bannister, Jimmy glided quickly while calling out gleefully, "Aunt Dawn! Aunt Dawn! Aunt Dawn!"

Xander dropped the bags again and darted forward to catch the boy as he got to the end of the railing, before he could slide off and hit the marble floor. "What were you thinking? You could've gotten hurt!"

Jimmy frowned, puzzled, "But you caught me, Papa, I knew you would. You also told me not to run down the stairs, so I didn't."

Xander couldn't say anything to that without snapping at the moment, so he bit his tongue. It didn't help him any that Dawn was obviously trying not to laugh at the child's logic.

Wriggling now, Jimmy reached out for his favorite aunt, "Aunt Dawn we missed you!"

Finally allowing herself to laugh, Dawn stepped away from her bags and pulled the boy from his father's arms. She hugged him tight and sighed with happiness as she told him, "I missed all of you, too."

Laibah came into sight next at the top of the stairs. She also yelled at the top of her lungs, "Aunt Dawn!" She jumped over the railing and down, skipping the stairs entirely, ran over and wrapped herself around Dawn's waist.

Dawn freed one arm to hug the girl while failing not to laugh at Xander's present facial expression. She could guess that admonitions against doing what Laibah had just done were on the tip of his tongue.

Before he could say anything, however, the remaining slayers of the house appeared, Astrid in the lead with Jesse in her arms. She and a couple of others ran down the stairs while the rest started to jump over the railing.

Xander yelled, "Stop!"

Rachel was already vaulting over. On Xander's order she yelped as she kept her hold on the bannister and slammed into the railing and wall. Scrambling back up and over, she hung her head and looked embarassed.

Astrid froze on the landing, the wriggling five year old fighting to get down. She let him slide to the floor and he half walked, half ran the rest of the way down to Dawn who went down on one knee to meet him.

Xander glared up at the girls who had been about to jump down, "Okay, now I see where Laibah learned that little trick and it stops now. Unless there's an emergency of some kind, or we're under attack, there will be no more jumping over that railing or any other. Is that understood?"

A chorus of, "Yes, sir." "Sure thing, Boss." and other, equally respectful variations could be heard.

At that moment, Dawn was overbalanced and fell backward with a yelp and a laugh onto her overstuffed duffle bag. All the children followed her down, piling on top and giggling like mad.

High pitched squeals erupted and down the walls raced the genbua. They loved happy people piles and jumped on the one in progress with glee.

Dawn was delighted, "Oh my, you're all so adorable and look how much you've grown. I'm so glad I finally get to meet all of you in person!" She made sure to try and pet each and every one, the children chattering to her about them and telling her all their names. Dawn was careful not to laugh when she realized they were all named after either Dragonriders of Pern or Star Wars characters.

The genbua all began to make the burbling noise that Xander equated with pleased genbua. Looking at the happy group on the floor with a smile, he turned back to the rest of his slayers, his family and asked, "Well, what are you all waiting for?" He waved expansively, "Get on down here!"

All sixteen of them raced down the stairs.

Before Dawn knew it, she'd been hugged and welcomed back by every single slayer and her belongings had been carried upstairs to one of the guest rooms.

Everyone who wanted to stay awake all trooped into the kitchen and breakfast was started by various girls. They'd obviously gotten into a proper routine for this as there was very little jostling and no real bickering. That's not to say there was no teasing and playful snarking, though.

All the genbua hitched rides on children and slayers alike. Dawn was surprised the little female that bossed the others around, Wirenth, perched on her own shoulder.

Through it all, Dawn was monopolized by Xander's children and the litter of genbua who seemed facinated by everything about her.


End file.
